(Still) going for the snow in the Poconos

It doesn't take much to embrace the first snowfall of the season, with its pristine white appearance and holiday-like feel.

CHRISTOPHER MELE

It doesn't take much to embrace the first snowfall of the season, with its pristine white appearance and holiday-like feel.

But what kind of (broken) person would still be rooting for snow in March, especially after the season we've had here in the Poconos?

Pick me! I'm the one waving my gloved hand.

We're currently in the history books as No. 7 in snowfall totals in the Stroudsburgs, with a seasonal total of 76 inches.

So I'm excitedly watching this next weather maker coming our way Wednesday (2-5 inches for the Poconos, depending on which forecast you are tracking) and the potential for another storm brewing next week, although forecasters are tamping down expectations on that one since it's so far away.

Before you throw a hateful note embedded in a snowball through my window, all I'm saying is: Give snow a chance.

We've endured 14 storms, and you mean to tell me we're going to settle for being No. 7?

C'mon. Really?

Have you ever heard of a sports team or country in the Olympics going around boasting: "We're No. 7! We're No. 7!"

Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?

Maybe it's because I was snow-starved as a kid growing up in the Bronx.

When we did have snow, I'd lose myself for hours, sledding on my wooden Red Rider with its slick metal blades and oh-so-fancy steering.

I was the envy of my friends who relied on then-just-emerging plastic saucer sleds or my really cheap-thrills friends, who used large supermarket cardboard boxes as improvised ways to coast downhill.

Or maybe it's because when blizzards did strike New York City — as they did twice that I can recall when I was growing up — I was bitten by the news bug.

I'd go around shooting photos of cars abandoned and stuck on the Cross-Bronx Expressway and listened in awe as the tempo of city streets changed dramatically.

Look, we've come this far this season.

We're within easy reach of the No. 6 spot (76.2 inches, set in 1977-78, according to Pocono weather watcher Ben Gelber).

To reach the No. 1 spot, we only — only — have to see another 33.6 inches.

Gelber says it "would require a strong finish that may be beyond reach," but he adds (and this is the part where I'm like, boo-yah!): "Of course, this is the kind of year where a late March or April storm is more likely than usual."

So do we have a snowball's chance in hell of setting an all-time record?